Woman Charged in Boy’s Scalding Death

Murder and assault charges were filed Monday against the daughter of the foster mother of 3-year-old Elijah Johnson, who died after he was scalded in a bathtub at the foster home.

Leona Patrice Hightower, 23, was charged Monday with murder and assault on a child causing death, felonies with a maximum penalty of life in prison.

Her arraignment was postponed until May 26. Hightower remains in County Jail, where she is being held in lieu of $1 million bail.

“We’re confident she’ll be vindicated and this will be cleared up,” said her attorney, Fay Arfa.

Outside court, family members held a news conference to express their anger at county social workers. They called for the county Department of Children and Family Services to take responsibility for the boy’s death because the agency did not respond to earlier complaints about his safety.

“A child died when a child didn’t have to die,” said Najee Ali, director of Project Islamic Hope and spokesman for Elijah’s family. “There was a history of abuse and complaints . . . that was not acted upon by the proper officials.”

Prosecutors accuse Hightower of placing the boy in a tub of hot water. Hightower told authorities he climbed in by himself. The boy died May 10 of massive burns.

Family members said they had long suspected that Elijah had been abused because they had noticed scratch marks, bruises and swelling. One time, they said, the boy had a black eye. He also seemed always hungry and dirty, they said. Elijah’s mother, Connie Lawrence, said she complained repeatedly to the boy’s social worker but nothing was done.

“[Elijah] died because of bureaucracy,” Lawrence said. “They looked at him as a number instead of a child who needed protection.”

Neil Rincover, a spokesman for the county department, said he could not comment on the case because of pending investigations.